Friendly Fire

The idea of a "friendly" match is lost on soccer teams. As an outsider looking in—and to be honest, a soccer nimrod—when I heard that the U.S. National team was playing world No. 1 Argentina in a "friendly," I thought of spring training baseball. You know, a lot of fine-tuning, maybe some lighthearted socialization between the teams. Not so. Evidentially there's quite a bit of desperation going on during these matches. Don't believe me? The why, oh why, would a U.S. player reach out and gently strangle an Argentine player by the testes if it wasn't serious? If that's not putting yourself out there for the team, I don't know what is. And so, when FC Dallas plays a "friendly" with Chivas de Guadalajara this Saturday at 8 p.m. at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, expect anything but. Get tickets at ticketmaster.com.
Sat., June 28, 8 p.m., 2008